SB0351

SENATE BILL 351

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013

INTRODUCED BY

Ron Griggs

AN ACT

RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES; PROVIDING FOR A LOCAL OPTION DISTRICT TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OF LICENSES IN ITS TERRITORY; ADDRESSING RETAILER'S LICENSES; CREATING A LIMITED RETAILER'S LICENSE; ADDRESSING DISPENSER'S LICENSES; CREATING A FOOD SERVICE LICENSE; DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN LICENSES ISSUED BEFORE AND ON OR AFTER JULY 1, 2013; PROVIDING FOR CERTAIN DISPENSER LICENSEES TO ALSO RECEIVE RETAILER'S LICENSES; CREATING A LIMITED DISPENSER'S LICENSE; ALLOWING STATEWIDE TRANSFER OF LICENSES ISSUED PRIOR TO JULY 1, 2013; ADDING AND CHANGING LICENSE FEES; CHANGING THE LIMITATION ON THE NUMBER OF LICENSES TO BE ISSUED; CHANGING THE TERMS OF INTER-LOCAL OPTION DISTRICT TRANSFERS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1. Section 60-3A-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 39, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:

"60-3A-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Liquor Control Act:

A. "alcoholic beverages" means distilled or rectified spirits, potable alcohol, brandy, whiskey, rum, gin and aromatic bitters bearing the federal internal revenue strip stamps or any similar alcoholic beverage, including blended or fermented beverages, dilutions or mixtures of one or more of the foregoing containing more than one-half percent alcohol, but excluding medicinal bitters;

B. "beer" means an alcoholic beverage obtained by the fermentation of any infusion or decoction of barley, malt and hops or other cereals in water, and includes porter, beer, ale and stout;

C. "brewer" means a person who owns or operates a business for the manufacture of beer;

D. "club" means:

(1) any nonprofit group, including an auxiliary or subsidiary group, organized and operated under the laws of this state, with a membership of not less than fifty members who pay membership dues at the rate of not less than five dollars ($5.00) per year and who, under the constitution and bylaws of the club, have all voting rights and full membership privileges, and which group is the owner, lessee or occupant of premises used exclusively for club purposes and which group the director finds:

(a) is operated solely for recreation, social, patriotic, political, benevolent or athletic purposes; and

(b) has been granted an exemption by the United States from the payment of the federal income tax as a club under the provisions of Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or, if the applicant has not operated as a club for a sufficient time to be eligible for the income tax exemption, it must execute and file with the director a sworn letter of intent declaring that it will, in good faith, apply for an income tax exemption as soon as it is eligible; or

(2) an airline passenger membership club operated by an air common carrier that maintains or operates a clubroom at an international airport terminal. As used in this paragraph, "air common carrier" means a person engaged in regularly scheduled air transportation between fixed termini under a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the federal aviation administration;

E. "commission" means the secretary of public safety when the term is used in reference to the enforcement and investigatory provisions of the Liquor Control Act and means the superintendent of regulation and licensing when the term is used in reference to the licensing provisions of the Liquor Control Act;

F. "department" means the special investigations division of the department of public safety when the term is used in reference to the enforcement and investigatory provisions of the Liquor Control Act and means the director of the alcohol and gaming division of the regulation and licensing department when the term is used in reference to the licensing provisions of the Liquor Control Act;

G. "director" means the director of the special investigations division of the department of public safety when the term is used in reference to the enforcement and investigatory provisions of the Liquor Control Act and means the director of the alcohol and gaming division of the regulation and licensing department when the term is used in reference to the licensing provisions of the Liquor Control Act;

H. "dispenser" means a person licensed under the provisions of the Liquor Control Act selling, offering for sale or having in the person's possession with the intent to sell alcoholic beverages both by the drink for consumption on the licensed premises and in unbroken packages for consumption and not for resale off the licensed premises;

I. "distiller" means a person engaged in manufacturing spirituous liquors;

J. "food service license" means a license issued to a person pursuant to the provisions of the Liquor Control Act permitting the person to sell, offer for sale or have in the person's possession with the intent to sell alcoholic beverages by the drink for consumption on the licensed premises that is a restaurant subject to the conditions in Section 60-6A-3 NMSA 1978;

[J.] K. "golf course" means a tract of land and facilities used for playing golf and other recreational activities that includes tees, fairways, greens, hazards, putting greens, driving ranges, recreational facilities, patios, pro shops, cart paths and public and private roads that are located within the tract of land;

[K.] L. "governing body" means the board of county commissioners of a county or the city council or city commissioners of a municipality;

[L.] M. "hotel" means an establishment or complex having a resident of New Mexico as a proprietor or manager and where, in consideration of payment, meals and lodging are regularly furnished to the general public. The establishment or complex must maintain for the use of its guests a minimum of twenty-five sleeping rooms;

[M.] N. "licensed premises" means the contiguous areas or areas connected by indoor passageways of a structure and the outside dining, recreation and lounge areas of the structure and the grounds and vineyards of a structure that is a winery that are under the direct control of the licensee and from which the licensee is authorized to sell, serve or allow the consumption of alcoholic beverages under the provisions of its license; provided that in the case of a restaurant, "licensed premises" includes a restaurant that has operated continuously in two separate structures since July 1, 1987 and that is located in a local option district that has voted to disapprove the transfer of liquor licenses into that local option district, hotel, golf course or racetrack and all public and private rooms, facilities and areas in which alcoholic beverages are sold or served in the customary operating procedures of the restaurant, hotel, golf course or racetrack. "Licensed premises" also includes rural dispenser licenses located in the unincorporated areas of a county with a population of less than thirty thousand, located in buildings in existence as of January 1, 2012, that are within one hundred fifty feet of one another and that are under the direct control of the license holder;

O. "limited dispenser" means a person licensed as a dispenser prior to July 1, 2013 that has elected to be issued a separate retailer's license pursuant to Section 60-6A-3 NMSA 1978, thus limiting the person's authority under the original license to the sale, offer for sale or possession with the intent to sell alcoholic beverages by the drink for consumption on the licensed premises;

P. "limited retailer" means a person licensed under the provisions of the Liquor Control Act selling, offering for sale or having in the person's possession with the intent to sell alcoholic beverages in unbroken packages for consumption and not for resale off the licensed premises subject to the limitations in Section 60-6A-2 NMSA 1978;

[N.] Q. "local option district" means a county that has voted to approve the sale, serving or public consumption of alcoholic beverages, or an incorporated municipality that falls within a county that has voted to approve the sale, serving or public consumption of alcoholic beverages, or an incorporated municipality of over five thousand population that has independently voted to approve the sale, serving or public consumption of alcoholic beverages under the terms of the Liquor Control Act or any former act;

[O.] R. "manufacturer" means a distiller, rectifier, brewer or winer;

[P.] S. "minor" means a person under twenty-one years of age;

[Q.] T. "package" means an immediate container of alcoholic beverages that is filled or packed by a manufacturer or wine bottler for sale by the manufacturer or wine bottler to wholesalers;

[R.] U. "person" means an individual, corporation, firm, partnership, copartnership, association or other legal entity;

[S.] V. "rectifier" means a person who blends, mixes or distills alcohol with other liquids or substances for the purpose of making an alcoholic beverage for the purpose of sale other than to the consumer by the drink, and includes all bottlers of spirituous liquors;

[T.] W. "restaurant" means an establishment having a New Mexico resident as a proprietor or manager that is held out to the public as a place where meals are prepared and served primarily for on-premises consumption to the general public in consideration of payment and that has a dining room, a kitchen and the employees necessary for preparing, cooking and serving meals; provided that "restaurant" does not include establishments as defined in rules promulgated by the director serving only hamburgers, sandwiches, salads and other fast foods;

[U.] X. "retailer" means a person licensed under the provisions of the Liquor Control Act selling, offering for sale or having in the person's possession with the intent to sell alcoholic beverages in unbroken packages for consumption and not for resale off the licensed premises;

[V.] Y. "spirituous liquors" means alcoholic beverages as defined in Subsection A of this section except fermented beverages such as wine, beer and ale;

[W.] Z. "wholesaler" means a person whose place of business is located in New Mexico and who sells, offers for sale or possesses for the purpose of sale any alcoholic beverages for resale by the purchaser;

[X.] AA. "wine" includes the words "fruit juices" and means alcoholic beverages obtained by the fermentation of the natural sugar contained in fruit or other agricultural products, with or without the addition of sugar or other products, that do not contain less than one-half percent nor more than twenty-one percent alcohol by volume;

[Y.] BB. "wine bottler" means a New Mexico wholesaler who is licensed to sell wine at wholesale for resale only and who buys wine in bulk and bottles it for wholesale resale;

[Z.] CC. "winegrower" means a person who owns or operates a business for the manufacture of wine;

[AA.] DD. "winer" means a winegrower; and

[BB.] EE. "winery" means a facility in which a winegrower manufactures and stores wine."

SECTION 2. Section 60-5A-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 39, Section 15, as amended) is amended to read:

"60-5A-1. ELECTIONS FOR LOCAL OPTION--LIMITING LICENSES.--[Any municipality containing over five thousand population according to the latest United States census, whether the county in which that municipality is situated has adopted the local option provisions of the Liquor Control Act or any former act or not, or any county in the state may adopt local option in the county or municipality upon the following terms and conditions:

A. at any time after the effective date of the Liquor Control Act, the registered qualified electors of any proposed local option district may petition the governing body by filing one or more petitions in the appropriate office to hold an election for the purpose of determining whether the county or municipality shall adopt the local option provisions of the Liquor Control Act. If]

A. Alcoholic beverages shall not be sold, served or consumed in public in a county or municipality that has not become a local option district pursuant to the Liquor Control Act or any former act. A county or municipality that did not become a local option district prior to July 1, 2013 pursuant to the Liquor Control Act or any former act may hold an election to become a local option district pursuant to this section.

B. In a county or municipality that did not become a local option district prior to July 1, 2013, the registered qualified electors of any proposed local option district may petition the governing body by filing one or more petitions in the appropriate clerk's office to hold an election for the purpose of determining whether the county or municipality shall become a local option district pursuant to the Liquor Control Act. The election shall be held pursuant to Subsection D of this section.

C. In a local option district created pursuant to the Liquor Control Act or any former act, the registered qualified electors of the local option district may petition the governing body by filing one or more petitions in the appropriate clerk's office to hold an election for the purpose of determining whether to limit the number of licenses in the local option district to those issued prior to July 1, 2013 or to allow additional licenses in a certain number over a period of time if the license allotment method in Section 60-6A-18 NMSA 1978 provides for additional licenses in that local option district. If a petition is to limit additional licenses to a certain number over a period of time, the number and period of time shall be stated in the petition. An election shall be held pursuant to Subsection D of this section.

D. An election on the question of becoming a local option district or on the question of limiting the number of licenses shall be held as follows:

(1) if the aggregate of the signatures of [such] the electors on all the petitions equals or exceeds five percent of the number of registered voters of the local option district or the proposed district, the governing body shall call an election within seventy-five days of the verification of the petition. The date of the filing of the petition shall be the date of the filing of the last petition [which] that brings the number of signatures up to the required five percent; provided, however, that the governing body shall refuse to recognize the petition if more than three months have elapsed between the date of the first signature and the filing of the last petition necessary to bring the number of signatures on the petition up to five percent;

[B.] (2) the election shall be called, conducted, counted and canvassed substantially in the manner provided by law for general elections within the county or special municipal elections within the municipality, except as otherwise provided in this section;

[C.] (3) the votes at the election shall be counted, returned and canvassed as provided for in the case of general elections within the county or special municipal elections within the municipality;

[D.] (4) except as otherwise provided in this section, contests, recounts and rechecks shall be permitted as provided for in the case of candidates for county office in general elections or as provided for in the case of special municipal elections within the municipality. Applications for contests, recounts or rechecks may be filed by any person who voted in the election, and service shall be made upon the county clerk or municipal clerk as the case may be;

[E.] (5) if [a] the majority of all the votes cast at the election are cast in favor of [the sale, service or public consumption of alcoholic beverages in the county or municipality] becoming a local option district or of limiting the number of licenses, the [chairman] chair of the governing body shall declare by order entered upon the records of the county or municipality that the county or municipality has adopted the local option provisions of the Liquor Control Act or has limited the number of licenses as petitioned and shall notify the department of [such] the results;

[F.] (6) no election held pursuant to this section shall be held within forty-two days of [any] a primary, general, municipal or school district election. If within sixty days from the verification of [any] a petition as provided in [Subsection A] Subsections B and C of this section a primary, general, municipal or school election is held, the governing body may call an election for a day not less than sixty days after the primary, general, municipal or school election;

[G.] (7) if an election is held under the provisions of the Liquor Control Act in [any] a county [which] that contains within its limits [any] a municipality of more than five thousand persons according to the [last] latest United States census, it is not necessary for the registered qualified electors in the municipality to file a separate petition asking for a separate or different vote on the question of adopting the local option provisions of the Liquor Control Act by the municipality. The election in the county shall be conducted so as to separate the votes in the municipality from those in the remaining parts of the county. If a majority of the voters in the county, including the voters in the municipality, vote against the sale, service or public consumption of alcoholic beverages in the county, the county shall not adopt the local option provisions of the Liquor Control Act; but if a majority of the votes in the municipality are in favor of the sale, service or public consumption of alcoholic beverages, the municipality shall have adopted the local option provisions of the Liquor Control Act. Nothing contained in this subsection shall prevent any municipality from having a separate election under the terms of this section;

[H. any county or municipality composing a local option district under the provisions of the Liquor Control Act or any former act may vote to discontinue the sale, service or public consumption of alcoholic beverages in the local option district; the discontinuance shall become effective on the ninetieth day after the local option election is held] and

[I.] (8) nothing in this section shall invalidate any local option election held pursuant to any former act prior to July 1, 1981."

SECTION 3. Section 60-5A-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 39, Section 16) is amended to read:

"60-5A-2. RESUBMISSION OF LOCAL OPTION QUESTION OR LICENSE LIMITATION QUESTION.--[In any local option district]

A. In a county or municipality in which the local option provisions of the Liquor Control Act or former act have been rejected by the voters, it shall be permissible after the expiration of two years from the date of the election at which the local option provisions of the Liquor Control Act or any former act were rejected to have another local option election in the [district] county or municipality by following the procedure provided for in Section [15 of the Liquor Control Act. At the option of the petitioners referred to in Subsection A of Section 15 of that act, it shall be permissible to resubmit to the voters of one district not only the question of the sale, service or public consumption of alcoholic beverages, but it shall also be permissible to petition for a local option election for the purpose of submitting to the voters of the district the question of permitting the sale of alcoholic beverages by retailers only in the district] 60-5A-1 NMSA 1978.

B. In a local option district that imposed a limitation on the number of licenses, no less than five years following the election that imposed the limitation, the question of raising the limitation on the number of licenses that can be issued in the local option district may be resubmitted to the registered qualified electors pursuant to the procedure in Section 60-5A-1 NMSA 1978. In no case shall an election reduce the number of licenses permitted in the local option district prior to the election."

SECTION 4. Section 60-6A-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 39, Section 19) is amended to read:

"60-6A-2. RETAILER'S LICENSE--LIMITED RETAILER'S LICENSE--TRANSFER OF LICENSE ISSUED PRIOR TO JULY 1, 2013.--

[A. In any local option district, a person qualified under the provisions of the Liquor Control Act may apply for and be issued a retailer's license for the retail sale of alcoholic beverages.]

A. A retailer's license issued prior to July 1, 2013 may be transferred to any local option district location in the state, not subject to the license quota pursuant to Section 60-6A-18 NMSA 1978 but subject to a local option district limitation by election pursuant to Section 60-5A-1 NMSA 1978 and approval by the governing body of the local option district pursuant to Section 60-6B-4 NMSA 1978. This subsection does not apply to a rural retailer's license, which may be transferred only pursuant to Section 60-6B-12 NMSA 1978.

B. Beginning July 1, 2013, if the provisions of Section 60-6A-18 NMSA 1978 indicate the availability for a new license and there has been no local option district election to limit the number of licenses that would otherwise prevent a new license, a person may apply for and be issued, after submitting an application prescribed by the director and meeting all the requirements of the Liquor Control Act, including local government approval pursuant to Section 60-6B-4 NMSA 1978, a limited retailer's license, subject to the following limitations and conditions:

(1) the license is used for a specific licensed premises;

(2) the license is not transferable from person to person or from one location to another;

(3) when a licensee ceases to operate at the licensed premises, the director shall cancel the license; and

(4) except as otherwise specifically provided for limited retailer's licenses, the license is subject to the Liquor Control Act in the same manner as a retailer's license.

C. Nothing in this section shall prevent a retailer or a limited retailer from receiving other licenses pursuant to the Liquor Control Act.

[B.] D. A retailer's license [when issued] or limited retailer's license shall only be used by the person to whom the license is issued and shall only be used within the licensed premises, pursuant to provisions of the Liquor Control Act."

SECTION 5. Section 60-6A-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 39, Section 20) is amended to read:

"60-6A-3. DISPENSER'S LICENSE--SEPARATE RETAILER'S LICENSE--LIMITED DISPENSER'S LICENSE--TRANSFER OF LICENSE ISSUED PRIOR TO JULY 1, 2013--FOOD SERVICE LICENSE.--

[A. In any local option district, a person qualified under the provisions of the Liquor Control Act may apply for and be issued a dispenser's license for the sale of alcoholic beverages.]

A. Beginning July 1, 2013, a dispenser whose license was issued prior to July 1, 2013 may elect to convert the dispenser's license to a limited dispenser's license and to be issued a separate retailer's license, subject to qualification pursuant to the Liquor Control Act but not subject to any limitation contained in that act on the number of licenses that may be issued. A limited dispenser's license and a retailer's license issued pursuant to this subsection shall be considered issued prior to July 1, 2013 for purposes of the Liquor Control Act. Except as otherwise specifically provided for a limited dispenser's license, a limited dispenser's license is subject to the Liquor Control Act in the same manner as a dispenser's license.

B. A dispenser's license issued prior to July 1, 2013 or a limited dispenser's license, except a dispenser's license created by Section 60-6B-16 NMSA 1978, may be transferred to any local option district location in the state, not subject to the license quota pursuant to Section 60-6A-18 NMSA 1978 but subject to a local option district limitation by election pursuant to Section 60-5A-1 NMSA 1978 and approval by the governing body of the local option district pursuant to Section 60-6B-4 NMSA 1978. This subsection does not apply to a rural dispenser's license, which may be transferred only pursuant to Section 60-6B-12 NMSA 1978.

C. Beginning July 1, 2013, if the provisions of Section 60-6A-18 NMSA 1978 indicate the availability for a new license and there has been no local option district election to limit the number of licenses that would otherwise prevent a new license, a person may apply for and be issued, after submitting an application prescribed by the director and meeting all the requirements of the Liquor Control Act, a food service license to permit the sale, service and consumption of alcoholic beverages by the drink in a restaurant subject to the following conditions:

(1) the person shall submit evidence to the director that the person has a current valid food service establishment permit;

(2) the person shall satisfy the director that the primary source of revenue from the operation of the restaurant will be derived from meals and not from the sale of alcoholic beverages;

(3) the person may renew the license annually, and the director shall condition renewal upon a requirement that no less than sixty percent of gross receipts from the preceding twelve months' operation of the restaurant was derived from the sale of meals;

(4) upon application for renewal, the person shall submit an annual report to the director indicating the annual gross receipts from the sale of meals and from the sale of alcoholic beverages;

(5) except as provided in Section 60-3A-12 NMSA 1978, the license does not permit the sale of alcoholic beverages, whether in unbroken packages or not, for consumption off the licensed premises;

(6) the license shall not permit the sale, service and consumption of alcoholic beverages after the time that meal sales and service cease or at 11:00 p.m., whichever time is earlier;

(7) if Sunday sales have been approved in the local option district, the license shall permit, subject to the provisions of Section 60-7A-1 NMSA 1978, the sale, service and consumption of alcoholic beverages on Sundays until the time that meal sales and service cease or at 11:00 p.m., whichever time is earlier;

(8) the license shall not be transferable from person to person or from one location to another, and whenever a licensee ceases to operate a restaurant at the licensed premises, the director shall cancel the license; and

(9) except as otherwise specifically provided for a food service license, a food service license is subject to the Liquor Control Act in the same manner as a dispenser's license.

D. Nothing in this section shall prevent a dispenser, limited dispenser or food service licensee from receiving other licenses pursuant to the Liquor Control Act; provided that a food service license shall not be used to apply for or receive a special dispenser's permit pursuant to Section 60-6A-12 NMSA 1978.

[B.] E. A dispenser's license [when issued], limited dispenser's license or food service license shall only be used by the person to whom the license is issued and shall only be used within the licensed premises, pursuant to provisions of the Liquor Control Act."

SECTION 6. Section 60-6A-15 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 39, Section 32, as amended) is amended to read:

"60-6A-15. LICENSE FEES.--Every application for the issuance or renewal of the following licenses shall be accompanied by a license fee in the following specified amounts:

A. manufacturer's license as a distiller, except a brandy manufacturer, three thousand dollars ($3,000);

B. manufacturer's license as a brewer, three thousand dollars ($3,000);

C. manufacturer's license as a rectifier, one thousand fifty dollars ($1,050);

D. wholesaler's license to sell all alcoholic beverages for resale only, two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500);

E. wholesaler's license to sell spirituous liquors and wine for resale only, one thousand seven hundred fifty dollars ($1,750);

F. wholesaler's license to sell spirituous liquors for resale only, one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500);

G. wholesaler's license to sell beer and wine for resale only, one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500);

H. wholesaler's license to sell beer for resale only, one thousand dollars ($1,000);

I. wholesaler's license to sell wine for resale only, seven hundred fifty dollars ($750);

J. retailer's license, for renewal, one thousand three hundred dollars ($1,300);

K. limited retailer's license, for issuance, two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000), and for renewal, one thousand three hundred dollars ($1,300);

[K.] L. dispenser's license or limited dispenser's license, for renewal, one thousand three hundred dollars ($1,300);

M. food service license, for issuance, seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000), and for renewal, one thousand three hundred dollars ($1,300);

[L.] N. canopy license, one thousand three hundred dollars ($1,300);

[M.] O. restaurant license, one thousand fifty dollars ($1,050);

[N.] P. club license, for clubs with more than two hundred fifty members, one thousand two hundred fifty dollars ($1,250), and for clubs with two hundred fifty members or fewer, two hundred fifty dollars ($250);

[O.] Q. wine bottler's license to sell to wholesalers only, five hundred dollars ($500);

[P.] R. public service license, one thousand two hundred fifty dollars ($1,250);

[Q.] S. nonresident licenses, for a total billing to New Mexico wholesalers:

(1) in excess of:

$3,000,000 annually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,500;

1,000,000 annually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,250;

500,000 annually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,750;

200,000 annually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,700;

100,000 annually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,800;

and

50,000 annually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 900;

and

(2) of $50,000 or less. . . . . . . . . .$300;

[R.] T. wine wholesaler's license, for persons with sales of five thousand gallons of wine per year or less, twenty-five dollars ($25.00), and for persons with sales in excess of five thousand gallons of wine per year, one hundred dollars ($100); and

[S.] U. beer bottler's license, two hundred dollars ($200)."

SECTION 7. Section 60-6A-18 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 39, Section 35, as amended) is amended to read:

"60-6A-18. LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF LICENSES--EXCEPTIONS.--

A. The maximum number of licenses to be issued under the provisions of Sections 60-6A-2 and 60-6A-3 NMSA 1978 [shall be as follows:

(1) in incorporated municipalities, not more than one dispenser's or one retailer's license, including canopy licenses which are replaced by dispenser's licenses as provided in Section 60-6B-16 NMSA 1978, for each two thousand inhabitants or major fraction thereof; and

(2) in unincorporated areas of each county, not more than one dispenser's or one retailer's license, including canopy licenses which are replaced by dispenser's licenses as provided in Section 60-6B-16 NMSA 1978, for each two thousand inhabitants or major fraction thereof, excluding the population of incorporated municipalities within the county] shall be based on a quota of one retailer's, dispenser's, limited retailer's or food service license for each one thousand five hundred residents or major fraction thereof, in each county, including incorporated areas, subject to a local option district limitation set by election pursuant to Section 60-5A-1 NMSA 1978.

B. A license proposed to be transferred pursuant to Section 60-6B-12 NMSA 1978 shall not count toward the quota set in this section but is subject to a local option district limitation set by election pursuant to Section 60-5A-1 NMSA 1978.

C. The limited dispenser's license and the retailer's license created pursuant to Subsection A of Section 60-6A-3 NMSA 1978 shall be counted together as one license for the purposes of the quota pursuant to this section.

[B.] D. For the purpose of this section, the number of [inhabitants of a local option district] residents of a county shall be determined by annual population estimates published by the economic development department.

[C.] E. Subsection A of this section shall not be construed to prevent [any] a licensee holding a valid license issued under the Liquor Control Act, or [his] the licensee's transferee, from continuing the licensed business or from renewing [his] the license, subject to compliance with the Liquor Control Act and department [regulations] rules, notwithstanding that the continuance or renewal may result in an excess over the maximum number of licenses permitted in Subsection A of this section."

SECTION 8. Section 60-6B-12 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 39, Section 113, as amended) is amended to read:

"60-6B-12. INTER-LOCAL OPTION DISTRICT TRANSFERS.--

A. [All] Dispenser's, limited dispenser's and retailer's licenses originally issued before July 1, [1981] 2013, except rural dispenser's and rural retailer's licenses and canopy licenses that were replaced by dispenser's licenses pursuant to Section 60-6B-16 NMSA 1978, may be transferred to any location within the state without regard to the license quota in Section 60-6A-18 NMSA 1978, except:

(1) class B counties having a population of between [fifty-six thousand and fifty-seven thousand according to the 1980] seventy-one thousand and seventy-two thousand according to the 2010 federal decennial census and the municipalities located within those class B counties [and any]; (2) a municipality or county that [prohibits] is not a local option district;

(3) a local option district that has limited the number of licenses pursuant to Section 60-5A-1 NMSA 1978 to a number that excludes a transfer; or

(4) a local option district that prohibited by election prior to July 1, 2013 the transfer of a license from another local option district [without regard to the limitations on the maximum number of licenses provided in Section 60-6A-18 NMSA 1978, not otherwise contrary to law, subject to the approval of transferring locations of such liquor licenses of the governing body for that location; and provided all].

B. The transfer shall be subject to the following provisions:

(1) it is not contrary to law;

(2) the governing body of the receiving local option district has approved the transfer;

(3) the requirements of the Liquor Control Act and department [regulations] rules for the transfer of licenses are fulfilled; and [provided further:

(1) the transfer of location does not lower the number of dispenser's and retailer's licenses below that number allowed by law in the local option district from which a license will be transferred;

(2) beginning in calendar year 1997, no more than ten dispenser's or retailer's licenses shall be transferred to any local option district in any calendar year;

(3) the dispenser's or retailer's licenses transferred under this section shall count in the computation of the limitation of the maximum number of licenses that may be issued in the future in any local option district as provided in Section 60-6A-18 NMSA 1978 for the purpose of determining whether additional licenses may be issued in the local option district under the provisions of Subsection E of Section 60-6B-2 NMSA 1978; and]

(4) the dispenser's, limited dispenser's or retailer's licenses shall be operated or leased by the person who transfers the license to the local option district for at least a period of one year from the date of the approval of the transfer by the department.

[B. Transfers of location of each liquor license pursuant to Subsection A of this section shall become effective upon approval of the local governing body, unless within one hundred twenty days after the effective date of the Liquor Control Act a petition requesting an election on the question of approval of statewide transfers of liquor licenses into that local option district is filed with the clerk of the local option district and the petition is signed by at least five percent of the number of registered voters of the district. The clerk of the district shall verify the petition signatures. If the petition is verified as containing the required number of signatures of registered voters, the governing body shall adopt a resolution calling an election on the question of approving or disapproving statewide transfers of liquor licenses into that district. Notice of such election shall be published as provided in Section 3-8-35 NMSA 1978, and the election shall be held within sixty days after the date the petition is verified or it may be held in conjunction with a regular election of the governing body if such election occurs within sixty days after the date of verification. If a majority of the registered voters of the district voting in such election votes to approve statewide transfers of liquor licenses into the local option district, each license proposing to be transferred shall be subject to the approval of the governing body. If the voters of the district voting in the election vote against the approval, then all statewide transfers of liquor licenses pursuant to Subsection A of this section shall be prohibited in that district, unless a petition is filed requesting the question be again submitted to the voters as provided in this subsection. The question of approving or disapproving statewide transfers of liquor licenses into the local option district shall not be submitted again within two years from the date of the last election on the question.

C. Any dispenser's license transferred pursuant to this section outside its local option district shall only entitle the licensee to sell, serve or permit the consumption of alcoholic beverages by the drink on the licensed premises.

D.] C. Rural dispenser's, rural retailer's and rural club licenses issued under any former act may be transferred to any location, subject to the restrictions as to location contained in the Liquor Control Act, within the unincorporated area of the county in which they are currently located; provided that they shall not be transferred to any location within ten miles of another licensed premises; and provided further that all requirements of the Liquor Control Act and department [regulations] rules for the transfer of licenses are fulfilled."

SECTION 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2013.

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